The Chronic Consumer

Almost exactly one year ago, I posted that I wanted to buy a Jonathan Toews Chicago Blackhawks jersey to celebrate getting back into the sport as a fan. Well, I finally pulled the trigger on the purchase a little while ago. After spending a bit of time going through all the different jersey options at shop.nhl.com, I ended up buying the Reebok Premier version (mostly because it was the cheapest). Honestly, though, this turned out to be a mistake, as I wasn’t familiar with the different types of jerseys before shopping. Next time, this is something I need to handle in a store instead of online.

I’m not saying the NHL Shop or Reebok are at fault here. I simply didn’t read the product description carefully enough and didn’t understand what kind of jersey I was paying for. So imagine my surprise when, after spending $115 on this thing, it arrives at my door looking and feeling like the cheapest hockey jersey on the planet! I swear, I wasn’t expecting this! The Blackhawks logo on the front feels like some flimsy piece of cardboard, and the shoulder logos, numbers, and player’s name are all screen-printed on. I was expecting everything to be sewed/stitched, which was my mistake. The product description clearly mentions words like “heat-pressed”, “screen printed”, and “applique”, but I didn’t think anything of it at the time.

Let me explain where my confusion stems from. I had previously seen some Blackhawks jerseys at Dick’s Sporting Goods that retailed for $149. These jerseys had the sewn letters and numbers that I was looking for. I thought the Reebok Premier Replica would be the same thing because at NHL Shop, the customization option (adding a player’s name and number) costs $55, which would put the price right in the DSG range. That’s why I was expecting to get a sewn jersey. The only good thing about this transaction is that I actually bought the jersey during a promo for free customization. I would have been seriously PISSED to pay more than $150 for this product.

Anyway, I am not pleased with this purchase at all (even though it’s my fault). I’m not a jersey snob or anything, and don’t mind replica jerseys like the ones the NFL puts out (with all screen-printed logos, letters, and numbers). But those replicas only cost about $50-$60, so I KNOW damn well what I’m getting. When I shell out more than $100 for a “replica” jersey, it should be of higher quality than this Reebok Premier replica.

I’m not as livid about the purchase as I was the day I first got it, but you better believe there’s no way in hell I’m buying one of these things ever again. I guess I’ve learned my lesson here.